Lack of Affordable Housing Sends People Packing

The op-ed "Census: Opportunity Not Main Reason For People Changing States" [Dec. 23, courant.com] highlighted important population trends, but its most relevant point wasn't made until the end. States with the largest losses in domestic migration (including Connecticut and its neighbors, New York and New Jersey) are also those with the tightest land-use restrictions that make it difficult to build new housing.

People are forgoing our region because its housing is not affordable. Connecticut has the nation's sixth highest median monthly housing costs. Half of Connecticut's renters and more than a third of its homeowners pay more than 30 percent of their income for housing. While it's true that taxes are high, when households are spending more than 30 percent of their income on housing, they're forced to compromise on many other the necessities, which rules out saving for a down payment.

Although great strides are being made by towns enacting zoning that encourages building of smaller, more affordable homes in higher-desity developments, more can be done. Without a steady supply of housing affordable to a spectrum of incomes, we will continue to see citizens look for, and find, less expensive homes in other states.

Kathryn Shafer, Hartford

The writer is a policy analyst for the Partnership for Strong Communities.